What was the first pirate radio station? | Notes and Queries | guardian.co.uk What was the first pirate radio station? Caroline Scanlan, Dublin Offshore UK the first was Radio Caroline closely followed by Radio London, then followed by either Radio City or Radio King - both broadcasting from disused defence platforms. There have been unlicensed radio stations ever since radio broadcasting was first regulated; but the use of pirate implies the marine connection and 1960's UK. Peter Brooke, Kinmuck Scotland By pirate I assume that you mean unauthorised broadcasting to the UK and in that sense it would have been Radio Luxembourg which was the only medium wave outsider for many years. Later on came the converted lightship moored outside territorial waters off the east coast.The name escapes me as I never heard any broadcasts. Jack Hill, St Albans England UK Radio Caroline off the east coast of England, just outside legal waters! Tony Blackburn was one of the first RC DJ's Richard Sixsmith, Belgrade Yugoslavia It is widely but mistakenly believed that it all started with Radio Caroline. The first of the 'modern' pirates was actually Radio Mercur, which operated from a small fishing boat off Denmark in 1958.

It didn't last too long, but was joined by Radio Veronica off the Dutch coast in April 1960 (and which would keep broadcasting for the next 15 years). Radio Caroline herself started in March 1964 with Simon Dee making the opening broadcast. She was followed later that year by numerous other UK and European pirates (Sutch, Atlanta, London, Noordzee, etc). However, a claim that Radio Luxemburg predated these as a pirate cannot go unchallenged. Whether or not you regard Fab 208 as a pirate, she was certainly not the first unauthorised station to broadcast to the UK and to incur the UK Government's displeasure. This title would go to Radio Normandy, which broadcasted commercially sponsored programs to England from 1926 to 1939. In an internal memo of 7th April 1933, the Postmaster General wrote to the Head of the BBC saying: "We must use all our influence to stop this." In this, the P/G started a long tradition of bashing stations which the government could not control.

It was Tony Benn in the same role who shut down (most of) the offshore pirates at the end of the 1960s. Paul Reilly, Cambridge UK Radio Veronica, a Dutch ship-based station, preceded Caroline, and indeed was Ronan O'Reilly's template for it. Kip Stipala, Witham, England Radio Veronica, which began regular transmissions to Holland on May 6, 1960, is generally credited as the world's first offshore pirate broadcaster. It transmitted programmes to the UK in English (briefly) in early 1961. Radio Luxembourg was never an "unauthorised" broadcaster; it was legally permitted to transmit in English by international agreement in the 1930s. Caudillo, London, UK Re the answer quoting Simon Dee as being the first DJ to broadcast on Radio Caroline; I always thought that honour went to Tony Blackburn with the record "Walk on by" by Dionne Warwick. Blackburn went on to do the same on Radio One three years later by playing the first ever record broadcast on that station - "Flowers in the Rain" by the Move.

John Goodall, Cheam UK The leaders of the Easter Rising in Dublin took over the Irish School of Radio Telegraphy in April 1916, the first attempt to put up the aerial ended when Tom Weafer was shot by a snipers bullet, eventually an aerial was put up and broadcasts on shipping frequencies took place giving details of the uprising, maybe not pop music but pirate radio for sure. John Spendlove, Ripley, Derbyshire Check these out for the true story of the worlds first pirate radio station or Eamon O'Buadhachain, Dublin, Republic of Ireland Ireland The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame There is an interesting profile of Radio Caroline's Graham Webb on the Australian Daily Telegraph website. 191,549 people (86,242 unique visitors) accessed The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame during 2016. That is slightly down on last year when we had 215,383 visitors. Our best year was 2007 when we had 283,461. At the time of writing around 870 people have ‘liked’ the PRHoF on Facebook .

It is immensely gratifying that, nearly half a century after the Marine Offences Act made offshore radio illegal, so many people are still interested in the subject of ‘watery wireless’ and this website. Our grateful thanks to everyone who has contributed or supported us. We wish you all a very happy new year. See the contents page and DJ Directories of the sixties , seventies and eighties for full details of the website. IT WAS FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH: 17th January 1967: Station BBMS, the former Radio Essex, lost its appeal against conviction under the Wireless Telegraphy Act. The station had closed at Christmas (more details here ). IT WAS THIRTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH: 5th January 1987: The front aerial mast of the mv Communicator snapped, temporarily silencing Laser Hot Hits. 22nd January: Low powered test transmissions began for a returning Laser Hot Hits. 23rd January: The last Caroline Overdrive programmes were broadcast from the mv Ross Revenge. Britain's first offshore radio station, Radio Caroline, began broadcasting at Easter 1964 from a ship anchored just outside UK territorial waters.

She was followed by a host of other radio stations based on boats and marine structures dotted around the coast. These “pirates” rapidly won an enormous and enthusiastic audience. There are other web-sites which tell the stories of the various offshore stations but The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame has been set up to honour the stars, the broadcasters, from that golden era of music radio. This site is a tribute to the people who endured a daily battle with the elements to provide a soundtrack to the swinging sixties. (The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame is a British-based website. It only includes those DJs who broadcast in English and could be heard in the UK. Offshore radio also flourished in Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Israel and New Zealand. The absence of the DJs from these countries in the Hall of Fame does not suggest that they are any less deserving, just that they are outside the scope of this site. Please see the links page for details of websites which cover offshore radio in other parts of the world.) The inductees in The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame are listed alphabetically.

To find your favourite voice from the sixties either select it from the drop-down list below, search the site using the Google box or click on the appropriate page from the table of contents beneath. For broadcasters from the later decades, go to the Seventies Supplement or Eighties Supplement . There are some that we know very little about - see the help wanted page. A Brief History of Pirate Radio - Pirate Radio Beat Boat Cruise Pirate Radio Beat Boat Cruise Search for: A Brief History of Pirate Radio Fifty years ago the boring world of British broadcasting was rocked to its foundations by the launch of offshore radio stations Radio Atlanta, Radio Caroline, Radio City and Radio London. As they were broadcasting from outside UK territorial waters the stations were soon branded ‘pirate radio’, a romantic/ironic handle which still resonates among that generation of listeners. Top Pirate Radio Jocks Johnnie Walker (Radio Caroline), Dave Cash (Radio London) and Emperor Rosko (Radio Caroline) will be spinning discs and reminiscing on board our cruise, with maybe a surprise guest or two. LV18, in the guise of Radio Sunshine.

(c) G Ewens We are also blessed with the expertise and resources of Tony O’Neil, owner of the National Vintage Wireless and Television Museum and curator of the LV18 . This last surviving manned lightship in Britain was towed to Portland for a role in The Boat That Rocked, painted with yellow trim and named Radio Sunshine, although cut from final edit. The ship, berthed in Harwich, contains a standing exhibit of pirate radio memorabilia and artefacts, some of which Tony will be bringing on board, along with a display from the Pirate Memories collection. Mike Barrington waving from Sealand. (c) G Ewens We hope to be joined by Mike Barrington, an engineer for Radio Caroline on the mv Mi Amigo. After working ashore on Radio Sovereign and Radio Jackie, he returned to Caroline in the eighties aboard the mv Ross Revenge (which has been lying in Tilbury dock, within view of the Marco Polo’s berth). He is more recently found working on Sealand, the former Roughs Tower fort, now a self-proclaimed independent country. Mike will be annotating a navigation chart showing the locations of various ship anchorages and fort locations used by the offshore stations.

Our shore excursion to the REM Island (built in 1964 as an offshore radio and TV station) and to the Radio Veronica ship will be hosted by Sietse Brouwer, the CEO of Pan European Radio BV and the MD of the Lightship Jenni Baynton based in Harlingen which, along with Radio Caroline’s Ross Revenge, is one of only two working radio ships still afloat. It is home to Radio Seagull and Radio Waddenzee , with five AM transmitters, two aerial systems and three studios. Pirate radio in the UK first became widespread in the early 1960s when pop music stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio London started to broadcast on medium wave to the UK from offshore ships or disused sea forts. At the time these stations were not illegal because they were broadcasting from international waters. The stations were set up by entrepreneurs and music enthusiasts to meet the growing demand for pop and rock music, which was not catered for by the legal BBC Radio services. The first British pirate radio station was Radio Caroline, which started broadcasting from a ship off the Essex coast in 1964.

By 1966 pirate radio stations were broadcasting to an estimated daily audience of 10 to 15 million. The format of this wave of pirate radio was influenced by Radio Luxembourg and American radio stations. Many followed a top 40 format with casual DJs, making UK pirate radio the antithesis of BBC radio at the time. Spurred on by the offshore stations, several landbased pirate stations took to the air on medium wave at weekends, such as Telstar 1 in 1965, and RFL in 1968. According to Andrew Crisell UK pirate radio broke the BBC’s virtual monopoly of radio to meet demand that had been neglected. In reaction to the popularity of pirate radio BBC radio was restructured in 1967, establishing BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3 and Radio 4. A number of DJs of the newly created pop music service BBC Radio 1 came from pirate stations.

The UK Government also closed the international waters loophole via the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act of 1967, although Radio Caroline continued to broadcast (with some sizeable off-air periods between 1968–72 and 1980–83) until 1988. Radio Caroline & The British "Pirates" In 1927 the British government concluded that radio was such a powerful means of mass communication that it needed to be under state control, thus in 1927 they created a monopoly known as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The BBC was given government authority to raise revenue by charging a license fee to every home possessing a radio, and charged with the duty to provide programming. The UK population had no say in the type of programming the BBC was delivering. By 1930 there were five million radio sets in Britain, all unavoidably tuned to the BBC. Through the ensuing years the BBC and the British government were increasingly hostile toward any competition to their radio monopoly. Their programming was limited mainly to programs aimed at boosting the morale of the British population. This situation continued into the fifties when things began to change when the American Rock & Roll era made its way into the country.

Meanwhile in 1958 the first European "pirate" was Radio Mercur, broadcasting from international waters. Established by a group of Danish businessmen, the station transmitted from a small ship anchored off Copenhagen, Denmark. Radio Mercur's success led to other European groups starting similar ventures, including Radio Nord in 1960 anchored off Stockholm, Sweden. Radio Veronica in 1960 began broadcasting in Dutch from an old light ship anchored off the Dutch coast. Pop music on BBC radio was limited to short presentations of the music on weekends only and with straight laced announcers (no DJs). Many pop-music-seeking British listeners turned to Radio Luxembourg, (*2) the only cross border broadcaster able to get back on the air after the war. Radio Luxembourg could only be heard at night in Britain when propagation was good. Despite the inconvenience of long periods of signal fading, Radio Luxembourg was extremely popular. In the 1960s the BBC initially enjoyed a statutory monopoly on radio in the UK. At that time the BBC broadcast little more than 2 hours per week of recorded popular music, a limit partly determined by the high level of royalties charged by record companies for airplay.

From 1964 onwards, a number of pirate radio stations started broadcasting from ships and coastal forts located around the UK, but from outside the 3 mile limit of British territorial waters at that time. These pirate stations were not subject to British law in respect of both broadcasting rights and royalty payments. Most of them broadcast continuous recorded pop music and they funded themselves with advertising and sponsorship revenues. These stations were subsequently branded as "pirates". The most famous and longest-lasting was Radio Caroline. Caroline beginning- Ronan O'Rahilly is usually credited as the founder of British Pirate Radio. In the early sixties, O'Rahilly, the son of a well-known and wealthy Irish family, came to London hoping to become involved in film making. (In the later 60's O'Rahilly was manager of actor George Lazenby, famous for playing James Bond just once in the movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". It was also O'Rahilly who convinced Lazenby NOT to sign up for a further multi-movie deal to continue playing Bond, insisting Bond was a fad that wouldn't last! Instead Sean Connery returned to play Bond again). O'Rahilly got into the music scene managing new young artists.

He tried to get one of his clients Georgie Fame recorded, but the few record companies showed no interest. So he produced his own recording which he tried to promote. The BBC wouldn't play it because it wasn't on their preferred EMI or Decca labels. When he visited the head of Radio Luxembourg with his acetate recording, they showed him their limited air play lists, also dominated by EMI and Decca who had paid Luxembourg to play their records, and were booked up for the next five years. O'Rahilly decided he'd have to start his own radio station. The story of how O'Rahilly actually came up with the specifics of how to start an independent radio station is debated. His story is that it was all his own idea after he learned of stations like the Voice of America operating from ships at sea, gathering information on the operation from the U.S. Embassy, and also visiting Radio Nord and Radio Veronica gathering information regarding offshore operations.

The more likely reality is that O'Rahilly got his specific project ideas from those of an Australian businessman, Allan Crawford, who had years of experience in setting up his own record label and some involvement with Radio Veronica and a short-lived British-language station 'CNBC', which both broadcast from a Dutch radio ship. Crawford had come to his own decision to place a broadcast station in International waters off the UK Coast as a means of independently promoting artists, after experiencing the BBC/Luxembourg/Record Labels monopolies that O'Rahilly also encountered. O'Rahilly met Crawford in his office in 1962 to discuss Crawford's Project Atlanta, and charmed Crawford into believing O'Rahilly's (actually his father's) port in Greenore, Ireland, would be perfect for adapting his radio ship secretly. In return for the offer, Crawford revealed all his plan details, covering flags of convenience, banking arrangements, costs, financing and so on, while continuing to think highly of the smooth-talking O'Rahilly despite the latter's hidden agendas. Crawford intended to buy the MV Mi Amigo, a ship already previously used as a radio ship for Swedish offshore stations including Radio Nord.

The owner was then approached by O'Rahilly, attempting to buy it, but the owner was suspicious of his 'empty talk', and there was no deal. Crawford nearly got his station on air as early as 1962, when the Mi Amigo was even anchored in the North Sea close to Veronica at one point, but his backers became nervous regarding what the British Government's response might be to the sudden challenge to their authority, and withdrew their funding. Crawford lost the deal and the Texan-owned Mi Amigo ended up back in Galveston, where its broadcasting equipment was stripped out for conversion to a yacht. Crawford finally gained funding and bought the Mi Amigo in 1963. It sailed to various ports in Spain and finally Greenore, Ireland for radio/studio and mast installation. Meanwhile, O'Rahilly had set out to fund his project. While in Dallas, Texas to buy transmitters, he was reading an article in Life magazine and was captivated by a photograph showing president John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline playing in the Oval Office of the White House and disrupting the serious business of government. This was exactly the image he wanted for his station.

The name had to be Radio Caroline. With finance in place, O'Rahilly's business partner Chris Moore went to Rotterdam, Holland and purchased an old Danish ferryboat named "Fredericia", to be renamed "MV Caroline", which sailed to Ronan's father's Greenore port for conversion, arriving just before Crawford's Mi Amigo. Although there was not so much conversion work required on the Mi Amigo, it was still delayed waiting its turn as priority was given to O'Rahilly's ship. Mi Amigo was to get a lighter 3-ton 141ft aluminium mast, but its arrival was also delayed. Radio studios were built on the MV Caroline's upper decks behind the ships bridge. Power generators were installed in the hold providing power for two 10 KW Continental medium wave (AM) broadcast transmitters. The 13-ton steel 165ft vertical antenna mast was installed on the deck near the bow of the ship. They made test transmissions, which interfered with harbor lights and local TV and radio reception. Crawford and O'Rahilly had reached agreement to avoid competition, whereby Atlanta would broadcast to the southeast of England while Caroline would take up position off the Isle of Man to cover the northwest.

However, when the completed MV Caroline sailed out of port, Atlanta was surprised to learn that Caroline sailed south and east around England to anchor three miles off the coast of Felixstowe, a seaside town north-east of London on the coast of Suffolk, a position close to Mi Amigo's intended anchorage. On Easter Sunday 28th March 1964 at 12noon, Radio Caroline officially started on air with the announcement "This is Radio Caroline on 199, your all day music station" - Simon Dee was the opening voice heard, announcing the first live show presented by Chris Moore. Records were played by an engineer 'through the glass' in the other studio. Most programs were recorded on land on reel-to-reel tapes and taken out to the ship to be played as 'live'. Caroline was on the air, shattering the monopolies of the BBC and Luxembourg, and changing radio forever. Its 10,000watt signal was from a mere 80 miles from London and thus stronger than Luxembourg's.

Broadcasting hours were initially limited from 6am to 6pm daily under the slogan "Your all-day music station" to avoid competition from Radio Luxembourg which broadcast in English at 6 pm. Radio Caroline came as a total surprise to the British authorities. They had been aware of the Atlanta project since 1962, but knew nothing about Caroline. The original wavelength was announced as "199" meters (1509 kHz), rhyming with "Caroline". In reality the station was on 197.3 meters (1520 kHz) at the low end of the medium wave band. The Dutch offshore station Radio Veronica was on 192 meters (1562 kHz). A month later, Crawford's "Radio Atlanta" ship Mi Amigo arrived, also anchored in international waters off the coast of Harwich, England and only a mile from Caroline. Atlanta had suffered further delays. When both ships were in Greenore, two pairs of crystals - the component that sets the transmitter's frequency - had been ordered from America, one for each ship, but Caroline kept both sets. Atlanta had to use temporary replacements that were slightly off-frequency, causing some interference.

Transmissions were also delayed by Swedish engineer Ove Sjostrom, who was employed by O'Rahilly and got Caroline on the air in Greenore. He had originally worked on Radio Nord (on the ship 'Bon Jour', later renamed 'Magda Maria', which became 'Mi Amigo') and gave Crawford a lot of advice for his Atlanta project, but was never paid. So for some revenge, he, with another Swede, approached the Mi Amigo when it anchored near MV Caroline and told them they were working on the ship. Invited on board, he went to the transmitter room and subtly sabotaged the transmitter without leaving evidence. Crawford did hold one ace up his sleeve: unlike O'Rahilly he had done his homework regarding the best position for anchoring his ship, in the 'Wallet Channel' between Frinton-on-Sea, Essex and the Gunfleet Sands, the latter providing some shelter from rough seas and currents. Atlanta finally got on air on 27th April 1964, initially making test transmissions with announcements in French to disguise themselves.

It officially started as Radio Atlanta on 12th May 1964 - cheekily commencing broadcasting at 6pm just when Caroline went off the air, and on the frequency of 201meters very close to Caroline's 199meters. Both stations operated independently, though sometimes serviced by the same tender boat from Harwich. Stories of supplies, records and 'jingles' being stolen from one party by the other abounded. Two months later the two stations merged. It came as much as a surprise to the crew and DJ's on the Mi Amigo: they were mostly kept in the dark after non-urgent ship-to-shore communications were stopped by the authorities in reaction to the 'law-breaking' of the pirates. MV Caroline drew near Mi Amigo and the captain crossed over to explain. DJ's were given the choice of which ship to stay with when MV Caroline, being more seaworthy than the Mi Amigo, then sailed north to an anchorage in the Irish Sea off the coast of the Isle of Man to broadcast to Ireland, Scotland and the North of England as Radio Caroline North.

Radio Atlanta on MV Mi Amigo became Radio Caroline South and remained at anchor off the Essex coast to cover London and the South East. It chose 201metres (1495 kHz) frequency but still announced itself as "199meters". As if to confirm the wisdom of Crawford's choice of anchorage off Frinton, Caroline South tried moving nearer to London and the Thames Estuary to improve coverage, but the turbulence caused by the shallower waters and stronger currents made conditions very rough for Mi Amigo, which returned to their original anchorage within a week. Radio Caroline became prosperous with its popularity, allowing their offices to move into the plush expensive Soho Mayfair area of London. Their 'Caroline Club' membership grew swiftly, and many pop groups, including big names such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones, owed their popularity to the airplay received from the pirate ships. The DJs were mobbed like pop stars by teenage fans when they arrived off the ship's tender boat at Harwich Quay, after passing through the obligatory immigration and customs. However the British government classified both operations as "pirates" even though both were legally operating in international waters.

In 1966 the British Postmaster General, Anthony Wedgwood Benn, introduced a law that proclaimed the so-called "pirate" stations illegal, alleging 'danger to shipping' by the 'unauthorized use of frequencies' by the pirates and subsequent radio interference, as one of several reasons. Another excuse the government cited was increasing troubles arising from the proliferation of the pirates. One was the "Radio City Affair". Reginald Calvert was 'owner' of an ex-Second-World War fort off Kent, England being used by another pirate, Radio City. In 1965 Caroline began to negotiate a take-over of Radio City. Calvert entered a deal with one of Radio Caroline's directors, Major Oliver Smedley, formerly with the Atlanta project, who provided a transmitter to the fort, which failed, causing Smedley to withdraw from the deal. In 1966 Smedley boarded the fort with 10 workmen to repossess his unpaid-for transmitter. Calvert visited Smedley's home to demand the men leave his fort and return some transmitter parts, but in a violent altercation, Calvert was shot dead. Smedley was later acquitted from manslaughter charges.

The weather often made things difficult for the ships. Even in summer, amidst spells of fine calm weather there could still be a swell, making the playing of records difficult, or rough weather delaying supply tenders. Listeners became fascinated to share their hardships, hearing the sounds of the ship being ravaged by storms in the background when the microphone was on. DJ Tony Blackburn however later admitted he sometimes threw things like ashtrays around the studio while on-air, to heighten the drama. The DJs and crew were removed from the ship by 'breeches buoy', taken care of by the police, and never charged. Only when they later saw press photos did they realize their incredible good luck. The 133ft ship had avoided serious shipwreck by floating over a large concrete breakwater then coming ashore right between two wooden breakwaters, within a larger gap where one breakwater had been removed years before. It was the only gap in over 5 miles of coastline of 120ft-spaced breakwaters. The Mi Amigo was pulled off the beach on high tide two days later, and towed to Holland for a refit, gaining a generator, more-powerful transmitters and an antenna mast extension.

Meanwhile Caroline took up an offer from 'Swedish Pirate Queen' Mrs. Britt Wadner, owner of pirate Radio Syd (South), to rent her ship Cheetah II. Mrs. Wadner had herself experienced legal wrangles with the authorities, Sweden having passed legislation to outlaw pirate stations in 1962. She had been jailed a number of times. Since by Swedish law prisoners can continue their profession while in jail, she had still been allowed to record programs in her Hinseberg prison cell! Now, it was said she had been advised the ship ought not broadcast off Sweden because of the dangers from pack ice, so the ship retreated south to warmer waters offshore Holland. But it's likely she also feared the tightening of Sweden's broadcasting laws. Cheetah II's FM transmitters were not suitable for Britain so an AM transmitter, along with a generator, were brought back from Mi Amigo and installed on the ship, albeit running at lower than normal power, but enough to maintain their advertising income. Caroline was back on air after one month's absence, though it did have a lot of problems, frequently going off-air, and conditions on board the otherwise spacious ship were harsh.

Mi Amigo returned 3 months later, but had technical problems trying to get back on air. There was a short circuit at the top of the mast, no engineers on board, and gales preventing one coming to the ship. The bored DJs decided to take action themselves, and one by one tried then succeeded in climbing the mast, without safety harness (its clip-on latches wouldn't fit the new upper mast section's rings), to clear the rogue wire. The hero was DJ Tony Blackburn, who never did get the $75 promised by Ronan O'Rahilly for doing the deed. They also had to replace some insulators that were breaking down due to the new transmitter's higher power. Caroline now had TWO Caroline South's, Cheetah II on the original 199 meters, and Mi Amigo now on '259' (actually 252) meters, 1169 kHz, close to neighbor pirate Radio London on 266 (1133kHz) and BBC's 'Light Program on 247 (1214kHz).

Gradually '199' persuaded its loyal listeners to move over to 259, after which Cheetah II's services were no longer required. Cheetah II remained in the area for awhile but got caught up in various problems, including drifting, impoundment, writs, disputes over ownership and attempts at sale. After more than a year the ship finally got free to resume its original intended voyage to Gambia, Africa from where it broadcast offshore, then became a restaurant, shop, and discotheque in the harbor, finally sinking there in the 70's after a storm. Britt Wadner also operated a hotel there. Meanwhile, Radio Caroline, with its improved power began to claw back audiences from its main rival 'Big L', Radio London. It had further competition from another ship "Swinging Radio England" which also used slicker American-style jingles produced by the famous PAMS in Dallas, Texas. DJ's on Caroline sneakily recorded England's jingles to use for themselves, edited with "Radio Caroline" dubbed over the original station name where appropriate. O'Rahilly enjoyed the audacity for a couple of days then told his guys to stop, to avoid legal action.

While marooned on the radio ships, crew and DJs missed the mainland especially on days when the coastline was clear and illuminated at night. One Caroline DJ, Johnnie Walker, took over the 9-midnight show. His intimate personal style was hugely popular and his 'Kiss in the Car', 'Frinton Flashing' and 'Ten O'Clock Turn On' features broke new ground on British radio. Motorists listening to Caroline would park their cars on the seafront along the coast with headlights directed at the radio ship. Johnnie would ask them to flash their headlights responding to various questions. By a process of elimination, they'd whittle down to an individual car. Johnnie could conduct a 'conversation' to the point of establishing a name, home town and so on, and even set up 'blind date' meetings between cars with males, and cars with females. The infamous British "MOA" - "Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act", became law on August 14, 1967. While the Act could not legally stop the broadcasts themselves from within international waters, it went after the main source of the station's income... advertisers....

by making it a criminal offence to supply or assist in any way such stations by persons subject to UK laws. Several other pirate stations that had appeared around the country's coast by this time - some on ships, others on ex-war forts - complied with the new law and closed down. Caroline listeners stayed tuned, anxious to find out what Caroline would do. At midnight, Johnny Walker famously addressed an estimated 20million listeners, passionately announcing "Radio Caroline would like to thank Mr. Harold Wilson and his Labour government for at last recognizing this station's right to exist, its right to be here and its right to provide you with entertainment, because we belong to you and we love you. Caroline continues." followed by playing the protest song "We Shall Overcome". By continuing, the three Englishmen, DJs Walker, Robbie Dale and newsreader Ross Brown, now each faced up to two years in prison and a $600 fine if they ever returned to Britain. On land, Caroline House in London had already closed earlier and the station's operational headquarters transferred to Amsterdam.

Ronan O'Rahilly, an Irish citizen, continued to operate quietly from the former Radio Atlanta office headquarters in Dean Street, London using the cover of a company 'Mid Atlantic Films'. O'Rahilly claimed only to be involved in the film production business. Although this was partially true, the company also acted as a secret base for recruiting Caroline staff and obtaining supplies and records. One of the first problems created by the new law was that the supply tender boat that formerly came out of Harwich with food, mail and other supplies, could no longer legally supply the station. Radio Caroline made arrangement to bring in supplies from Holland, which could take 24 hours. Often the ship would run short of water. In reality, Caroline South was often illegally supplied by 'locals' sailing in small boats from the nearest ports, although only when good weather allowed, meaning it often suffered shortages during bad and winter weather. DJ's could be 'stranded' on the ship without relief for weeks. Station operators thought they could get around the law if they were staffed, supplied and funded by non-British citizens, but this proved impractical. Their funds began drying up through lack of British advertising.

Following the loss of the Pirates from the Marine Offences Act, the BBC rearranged its organization, renaming existing channels as Radios One, Two, Three and Four. Radio One claimed to cater for the needs of pop-music-seeking pirate fans, and began on 30th September 1967. It employed several ex-pirate DJ's, including Simon Dee who had presented Caroline's first show. The first to be heard on Radio One was Tony Blackburn, the DJ who had climbed the mast to help get Caroline's Mi Amigo back on air just over a year before. Radio One initially proved too restricted, mostly unpopular and unsuccessful as a replacement for the energetic and much-missed pirates. Caroline suffered from its isolation, and difficulty in obtaining lucrative advertising. The station confused the authorities who continually monitored their broadcasts, by airing unpaid-for 'dummy' adverts amidst the few that were genuine and brought in some funds, and those for which long-term contracts were still valid and had to be honored. They played old adverts for Beechams, Nestle, Bulova watches and Du Maurier and Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes, those companies then frequently having to explain to Home Office authorities that the ads were not authorized and no longer paid for.

Caroline also heavily 'plugged' (promoted) selected artists, including David McWilliams, Roberto Mann Singers and Raymond LeFevre and His Orchestra amongst others, all on the Major Minor record label. It limited DJs' freedom and frustrated DJs and listeners alike, and was ironic considering Pirate Radio had been trying to overcome the monopoly of select chosen record labels by the BBC and Luxembourg, but it was supposedly of financially necessary. Major Minor's creator, Phil Solomon, was also a co-director of Caroline, a position earned as gratitude for his financial help to the station earlier. But it has been suggested that much of the revenue from the frequent plugs didn't even make it back to Carolineï¿½ In March 1968, it was ironic that it was not The Law that brought an end to Radio Caroline, but simple Commercialism. Unable to pay their bills, particularly those of the company providing provisions, Radio Caroline went off the air when two Dutch tugs representing the supply company appeared unexpectedly at both North and South ships, cut their anchor chains, and towed the vessels away to a Dutch port to satisfy debts. Ended by true Piracy?! But - this was not to be the end of Radio Caroline!

(Continued in Part Twoï¿½) The pirates genuinely suffered in bad weather in early 1966. Radio London, another pirate radio ship close by Caroline South and popular due to its 'American format', dragged its anchor in a gale and drifted into British territorial waters. It stayed off the air until towed back to its usual anchorage. Then just one week later Caroline's Mi Amigo suffered a similar fate. They realized too late that they'd drifted inside British waters, and the engineers removed transmitter crystals to hide in a drawer, lest they be confiscated by authorities. Engines were started but failed to halt the drift. They feared for their lives, but the ship eventually got swept up onto the snow-covered beach near Frinton On Sea with a loud bump. The DJs and crew were removed from the ship by 'breeches buoy', taken care of by the police, and never charged. Only when they later saw press photos did they realize their incredible good luck. The 133ft ship had avoided serious shipwreck by floating over a large concrete breakwater then coming ashore right between two wooden breakwaters, within a larger gap where one breakwater had been removed years before.

It was the only gap in over 5 miles of coastline of 120ft-spaced breakwaters. The Mi Amigo was pulled off the beach on high tide two days later, and towed to Holland for a refit, gaining a generator, more-powerful transmitters and an antenna mast extension. Meanwhile Caroline took up an offer from 'Swedish Pirate Queen' Mrs. Britt Wadner, owner of pirate Radio Syd (South), to rent her ship Cheetah II. Mrs. Wadner had herself experienced legal wrangles with the authorities, Sweden having passed legislation to outlaw pirate stations in 1962. She had been jailed a number of times. Since by Swedish law prisoners can continue their profession while in jail, she had still been allowed to record programs in her Hinseberg prison cell! Now, it was said she had been advised the ship ought not broadcast off Sweden because of the dangers from pack ice, so the ship retreated south to warmer waters offshore Holland. But it's likely she also feared the tightening of Sweden's broadcasting laws.

Cheetah II's FM transmitters were not suitable for Britain so an AM transmitter, along with a generator, were brought back from Mi Amigo and installed on the ship, albeit running at lower than normal power, but enough to maintain their advertising income. Caroline was back on air after one month's absence, though it did have a lot of problems, frequently going off-air, and conditions on board the otherwise spacious ship were harsh. Mi Amigo returned 3 months later, but had technical problems trying to get back on air. There was a short circuit at the top of the mast, no engineers on board, and gales preventing one coming to the ship. The bored DJs decided to take action themselves, and one by one tried then succeeded in climbing the mast, without safety harness (its clip-on latches wouldn't fit the new upper mast section's rings), to clear the rogue wire. The hero was DJ Tony Blackburn, who never did get the $75 promised by Ronan O'Rahilly for doing the deed. They also had to replace some insulators that were breaking down due to the new transmitter's higher power.

Caroline now had TWO Caroline South's, Cheetah II on the original 199 meters, and Mi Amigo now on '259' (actually 252) meters, 1169 kHz, close to neighbor pirate Radio London on 266 (1133kHz) and BBC's 'Light Program on 247 (1214kHz). Gradually '199' persuaded its loyal listeners to move over to 259, after which Cheetah II's services were no longer required. Cheetah II remained in the area for awhile but got caught up in various problems, including drifting, impoundment, writs, disputes over ownership and attempts at sale. After more than a year the ship finally got free to resume its original intended voyage to Gambia, Africa from where it broadcast offshore, then became a restaurant, shop, and discotheque in the harbor, finally sinking there in the 70's after a storm. Britt Wadner also operated a hotel there. Meanwhile, Radio Caroline, with its improved power began to claw back audiences from its main rival 'Big L', Radio London.

It had further competition from another ship "Swinging Radio England" which also used slicker American-style jingles produced by the famous PAMS in Dallas, Texas. DJ's on Caroline sneakily recorded England's jingles to use for themselves, edited with "Radio Caroline" dubbed over the original station name where appropriate. O'Rahilly enjoyed the audacity for a couple of days then told his guys to stop, to avoid legal action. While marooned on the radio ships, crew and DJs missed the mainland especially on days when the coastline was clear and illuminated at night. One Caroline DJ, Johnnie Walker, took over the 9-midnight show. His intimate personal style was hugely popular and his 'Kiss in the Car', 'Frinton Flashing' and 'Ten O'Clock Turn On' features broke new ground on British radio. Motorists listening to Caroline would park their cars on the seafront along the coast with headlights directed at the radio ship. Johnnie would ask them to flash their headlights responding to various questions. By a process of elimination, they'd whittle down to an individual car.

Johnnie could conduct a 'conversation' to the point of establishing a name, home town and so on, and even set up 'blind date' meetings between cars with males, and cars with females. The infamous British "MOA" - "Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act", became law on August 14, 1967. While the Act could not legally stop the broadcasts themselves from within international waters, it went after the main source of the station's income... advertisers.... by making it a criminal offence to supply or assist in any way such stations by persons subject to UK laws. Several other pirate stations that had appeared around the country's coast by this time - some on ships, others on ex-war forts - complied with the new law and closed down. Caroline listeners stayed tuned, anxious to find out what Caroline would do. At midnight, Johnny Walker famously addressed an estimated 20million listeners, passionately announcing "Radio Caroline would like to thank Mr. Harold Wilson and his Labour government for at last recognizing this station's right to exist, its right to be here and its right to provide you with entertainment, because we belong to you and we love you.

Caroline continues." followed by playing the protest song "We Shall Overcome". By continuing, the three Englishmen, DJs Walker, Robbie Dale and newsreader Ross Brown, now each faced up to two years in prison and a $600 fine if they ever returned to Britain. On land, Caroline House in London had already closed earlier and the station's operational headquarters transferred to Amsterdam. Ronan O'Rahilly, an Irish citizen, continued to operate quietly from the former Radio Atlanta office headquarters in Dean Street, London using the cover of a company 'Mid Atlantic Films'. O'Rahilly claimed only to be involved in the film production business. Although this was partially true, the company also acted as a secret base for recruiting Caroline staff and obtaining supplies and records. One of the first problems created by the new law was that the supply tender boat that formerly came out of Harwich with food, mail and other supplies, could no longer legally supply the station. Radio Caroline made arrangement to bring in supplies from Holland, which could take 24 hours. Often the ship would run short of water.

In reality, Caroline South was often illegally supplied by 'locals' sailing in small boats from the nearest ports, although only when good weather allowed, meaning it often suffered shortages during bad and winter weather. DJ's could be 'stranded' on the ship without relief for weeks. Station operators thought they could get around the law if they were staffed, supplied and funded by non-British citizens, but this proved impractical. Their funds began drying up through lack of British advertising. Following the loss of the Pirates from the Marine Offences Act, the BBC rearranged its organization, renaming existing channels as Radios One, Two, Three and Four. Radio One claimed to cater for the needs of pop-music-seeking pirate fans, and began on 30th September 1967. It employed several ex-pirate DJ's, including Simon Dee who had presented Caroline's first show. The first to be heard on Radio One was Tony Blackburn, the DJ who had climbed the mast to help get Caroline's Mi Amigo back on air just over a year before. Radio One initially proved too restricted, mostly unpopular and unsuccessful as a replacement for the energetic and much-missed pirates. Caroline suffered from its isolation, and difficulty in obtaining lucrative advertising.

The station confused the authorities who continually monitored their broadcasts, by airing unpaid-for 'dummy' adverts amidst the few that were genuine and brought in some funds, and those for which long-term contracts were still valid and had to be honored. They played old adverts for Beechams, Nestle, Bulova watches and Du Maurier and Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes, those companies then frequently having to explain to Home Office authorities that the ads were not authorized and no longer paid for. Caroline also heavily 'plugged' (promoted) selected artists, including David McWilliams, Roberto Mann Singers and Raymond LeFevre and His Orchestra amongst others, all on the Major Minor record label. It limited DJs' freedom and frustrated DJs and listeners alike, and was ironic considering Pirate Radio had been trying to overcome the monopoly of select chosen record labels by the BBC and Luxembourg, but it was supposedly of financially necessary. Major Minor's creator, Phil Solomon, was also a co-director of Caroline, a position earned as gratitude for his financial help to the station earlier.

But it has been suggested that much of the revenue from the frequent plugs didn't even make it back to Carolineï¿½ In March 1968, it was ironic that it was not The Law that brought an end to Radio Caroline, but simple Commercialism. Unable to pay their bills, particularly those of the company providing provisions, Radio Caroline went off the air when two Dutch tugs representing the supply company appeared unexpectedly at both North and South ships, cut their anchor chains, and towed the vessels away to a Dutch port to satisfy debts. Ended by true Piracy?! But - this was not to be the end of Radio Caroline! uncletony's Pirate Radio Ships March 28: Radio Caroline, the first UK off-shore pirate radio station, goes on the air. May 9: Radio Atlanta pirate radio ship - moored of the coast of Essex, England - goes on the air.

May 27: Radio Sutch founded by Screaming Lord Sutch - later a regular parliamentary candidate and founder of the Monster Raving Loony Party - goes on the air from the Shivering Sands Fort in the Thames Estuary June 3: Radio Invicta, another UK pirate radio station, goes on the air from Red Sands Towers in the Thames Estuary. June 5: Manx Radio broadcasts its first programme from a caravan. The initial potential audience for commercial radio programmes was estimated to be 2,500. July 2: Atlanta and Radio Caroline merge. mv Caroline sails to the Isle of Man. Mi-Amigo stays put. July 13: Radio Caroline North starts transmissions on 197m offshore Ramsey, IOM. September: Radio Sutch changes its name to Radio City. November 24: Manx Radio, the first legal land-based commercial radio station in the British Isles, officially goes on the air. December 18: Radio Invicta closes down. December 19: Radio London, goes on the air. Regular programmes began on December 23.

1965 King Radio: pirate station goes on the air from the former Radio Invicta installation at Red Sands Tower in the Thames Estuary. September 25: Pirate station King Radio is renamed Radio 390. September: Radio Essex pirate station goes on the air from Knock John Tower in the Thames Estuary. December 31: Radio Scotland pirate ship goes on the air at 23:55. 1966 May: Radio England and Britain Radio stations go on the air from a ship in the Thames Estuary. June 4: Radio 270 pirate ship goes on the air, broadcasting to northern England from off the Yorkshire coast. November 14: Radio England pirate ship begins transmissions in Dutch and changes its name to Radio Dolfijn. December: Radio Essex pirate station is successfully prosecuted in UK but is renamed BBMS (Britains Better Music Station) pending appeal. 1967 January: BBMS pirate radio station closes after the failure of its appeal against conviction. February 8: Radio City closes at midnight. March: Radio Dolfijn pirate station becomes Radio 227 and starts broadcasting in English again. Britain Radio becomes Radio 355.

July 23: Radio 227 closes. July 28: Radio 390 closes. August 6: Radio 355 closes. August 14: Many stations plan shutting down due to impending introduction of Marine Broadcasting (Offences) Act at midnight. Radio London station closed at 15:00; Radio Scotland and Radio 270 closed just minutes before midnight. Radio Caroline is renamed to Radio Caroline International and keeps broadcasting.... August 15: The Marine Broadcasting (Offences) Act comes into force. This has the effect of outlawing pirate radio in UK, and making criminals of any person or businesses involved in any way with the broadcasters. August 30: The Marine Offences Act become law in the Isle Of Man. 1968 March 3: Both Radio Caroline ships (broadcasting as Radio Caroline International) were raided in a well planned operation organised by the Wijsmuller company (who were owed £30,000 for tender services for the ships). A short message was read out to DJs, staff and crew, then both ships were towed to Holland. Eventually they were put up for auction in May 1972.

1970 January 23: Radio Nordzee International test transmissions start from the ship Mebo II offshore Holland. Official start of broadcasting at 6pm February 28 on MW (1578kHz - 105kW), FM (102Mhz - 1.2kW) and SW (6210kHz - 2 x 10kW). UK Government commence jamming of RNI. June 13: Radio Caroline International used RNI MW transmitter on 1230kHz for a week prior to UK General Election. For a long and interesting historical account of RNI go here 1971 Both of the Radio Caroline radio ships remain in harbour in Amsterdam, Holland. 1972 May 29: The radio ships mv Caroline and mv Mi Amigo were put up for auction. Caroline was sold for scrap and broken up. The Mi Amigo was also sold but saved from the scrapyard by a Dutch Free Radio enthusiast. September: The Mi Amigo was sailed into the North Sea and re-fitted. From it Radio 199 started test transmissions.

December: Radio Caroline returns on 199 metres for a few days from mv Mi-Amigo with a mix of English/Dutch programming before the crew took over the ship and had it towed to Amsterdam. 1973 January 2: mv Mi Amigo returns to sea and Radio Caroline transmissions resume, with Dutch programmes during the day and English at night. April 2: Radio Veronica got washed up on the beach after hurricane force winds. Radio Caroline provided an emegency service for Veronica for about 10 days. May: Radio Caroline International began test transmissions on 773kHz (389 metres) after the installation of a new aerial mast. By the end of May Radio Caroline was successfully transmitting on two frequencies (259 and 389 metres). July: The 259 metres transmitter was used by Radio Atlantis for day-time programming to Holland and Belgium. In the evening the station changed name to Radio Seagull and played album tracks to an English audience. October: mv Mi Amigo's new aerial collapses, Radio Atlantis/Seagull continue on low power until Christmas while a new is antenna was constructed. When was this window sticker released?

1974 January 1: Radio Mi-Amigo replaces Radio Atlantis. February: Power is increased to 50kW. Radio Caroline comes back on 259 metres replacing Radio Seagull. August 31: prior to the introduction of Dutch Marine Offences Bill Radio Nordzee International closes down. Dutch broadcasters Radio Veronica, Radio Mi-Amigo and Radio Atlantis also close. Radio Caroline continued on 259 metres for another remarkable but difficult four years ([reportedly] being supplied from Spain) until March 1980 (?). 1974 - 2003 Complete Offshore Pirate Radio Broadcasts Collection (4 Discs) · British Universities Film & Video Council Complete Offshore Pirate Radio Broadcasts Collection (4 Discs) Synopsis Genuine "Pirate Radio" airchecks broadcast to you through the sealanes of time from off the various coasts of Europe. Four-volume set - Over 363 hours packed into 705 MP3s on 4 DVDs.

It may sound incredible to our modern ears, but there was a time, with its heyday in the late 1950s to 1960s, when the seas about Europe were speckled with converted mine-sweepers, liberty ships, fishing trawlers and even abandoned anti-aircraft installations that were topped with radio antennae and bore a bevy of true-believer deejays with the common mission of bringing to the peoples of Western Europe the music of the day’s youth, in exactly the same manner that the Voice of America was broadcasting to the peoples of Eastern Europe. At the time, even the liberal democracies of Europe had rigid playlists and content policies that prevented many of their listening audience, especially the kids amongst them, from hearing the music they wanted to hear or to hear it whenever they wanted.

Starting variously around the Vik, and especially off the coast of Holland, where there were broadcasts emanating from houseboats with signals that sometimes covered only a single town or city, soon inspired enthusiasts and corporate ventures alike took to the seas to broadcast content that the red tape and institutional resistance of state sponsored ventures like the BBC wouldn’t permit, but which entrepeneurs whose commercial use of that content made a viable business venture out of it would. Vol 1: "WONDERFUL RADIO LONDON" The U.K.'s most popular pirate radio station broadcasting offshore during the Swinging ‘60’s! Many recordings of John Peel’s ‘The Perfumed Garden’ are included, together with the station’s final broadcast.

Vol 2: VOLUME TWO: RADIO CAROLINE The first ff The U.K.'s Pirate Top 40 Stations playing favourite hits of the Swinging ‘60’s Vol 3: RNI RADIO NORDSEE INTERNATIONAL The 1970-74 Pirate that defied jamming, hijacking & firebombing to give airplay to the music of the day Vol 4:THE OTHER UK PIRATES Britain Radio/Radio 227/Radio 270/Radio 355/Radio 390/Radio Atlanta/Radio City/Radio Essex/Radio Hauraki/Radio Invicta/Radio Nord/Radio Scotland/Radio Sutch & Swinging Radio England - Over 90 Hours Packed Into 190 MP3s On 1 DVD!

20 Broadcasts & Jingles of Radio Britain; 1 of Radio 227; 8 of Radio 270; 9 of Radio 355; 43 of Radio 390, 2 of Radio Atlanta; 21 of Radio City; 1 of Radio Essex; 1 of Radio Hauraki; 1 of Radio Invicta; 1 of Radio Nord; 3 of Radio Scotland; 2 of Radio Sutch & 78 of Swinging Radio England For fuller listings see Language BBC Inside Out - Pirate radio Inside Out - Yorkshire & Lincolnshire: Monday 18th October, 2004 PIRATE RADIO Now then, now then, now then... remember the swinging Sixties and pirate radio? Who could forget the music, the DJs and the sea sickness? Pirate radio is now a distant memory for many of us, but it struck a blow for pioneering DJs everywhere when stations first hit the airwaves. It was fresh, risky and a bit of a novelty. We hadn't heard anything like it before. Here in Yorkshire, we had our very own pirate station, Radio 270, broadcasting from a fishing vessel off the Scarborough coast.

Surfing the radio waves Radio 270 was the only offshore Yorkshire pirate radio station, broadcasting for 18 months between 1966 and 1967. The station was located on the Dutch ship Oceaan V11 which was anchored off Bridlington Bay. Stocked with 1,000 sausages, 100 kippers and 500 bacon rashers, the ship's DJs battled sea sickness on the tempestuous waves of the North Sea. The swinging boat was so bumpy that DJ Paul Burnett was once violently sick midway through reading an advert for bacon! The story of the station reads like a soap opera with staff mutinies, beleaguered DJs, technical nightmares, and power struggles. But it wasn't the squalling gales or DJ's tiffs and tantrums that finally sunk Radio 270. It was the hand of bureaucracy in the shape of the 1967 Marine Offences Act that scuppered the floating station.

DLT, Paul Burnett, Tony Blackburn and Peter Powell with Maureen the elephant in Radio One promotion On its final day, true to form, stormy weather prevented many of the staff joining the goodbye party aboard the Oceaan V11. The airwaves finally went dead at 11.59pm, and the ship sailed close to shore to the cheers of well wishers. The Oceaan V11 was later offered for sale but had no takers. The ship that once entertained a nation was broken up and laid to rest. Surf, crackle and pop .. Radio 270 wasn't the only offshore pirate station in the poptastic 1960s. Radio Caroline, Radio Atlanta, Radio London and Radio Veronica also flew the flag for pirate broadcasting. Many of the nation's best-loved DJs cut their teeth on the sea waves. Here's a tribute to just a few of them. Tony Blackburn Former Radio Caroline DJ, now turned Conservative MP for North Thanet Oceaan V11 is the inspiration for a major feature film shooting soon The pirates of the airwaves set the tone for for pop radio in the Seventies. Radio One and commercial radio recruited many of the star pirate DJs...

as well as their new poppy style. As for Radio 270, it remains a happy memory, long gone but forever etched in the memories of its many listeners. Its amazing story has inspired a new film, Making Waves, starring Richard E. Grant and Michael Gambon. Former Radio 270 DJ Paul Burnett will star in a cameo role. It seems like there's life in the old pirate station yet! See also ... PIRATE MEMORIES - Jingles FIRST GOLD - GUILDFORD UK 1988 - PAMS - CD Here's a PAMS jingle package for "Wonderful Music - First Gold Radio" - Guildford - Surrey UK, from 1988. This CD contains the on-air jingles from the very first AM split - Gold station in the UK. The station was originally called "County-Sound Radio". The overall sound of the station was unashamedly 60's Pirate based, most notably using many of the jingles made famous by Radio London. Pams Jingles are world renowned, and First Gold Radio rekindled those heady days of the mid 60's, with a mix of great tunes, and personality jocks.

The Stations strap line was "Wonderful Music", and it certainly was! All of the Jingles included in the set have references to "Wonderful Music - First Gold Radio" and include: - "It's a Blast - Greatest Hits"..., "Thank Goodness It's Fun"..., "The Fastest Thing in the Air"..., "Have You Ever Been - Needless to Say - You're OK...", "You're Hearing Things...", "Merry Go-Go Round...", "Go-Go - Charge"..., "Music" - (Sonovox) - That's Our Middle Name"..., "Much More Music Every Morning"..., "Let The Good Times Roll"..., Pams Swissle Series jingles and beds..."1 - 2 - 3 Jumps Ahead"..., "Smooth Sounds of the Smart Set"...(Series), "Happiness Is"..., "Good Morning - Instant Heaven"..., "Remember This Golden Classic"..., "Here's Yours Truly With the Weather"..., "News Around the Clock". ........ Pams Jingles are unmistakable even after all these years, and this series is a great reminder of those Pams Classics, and Britains FIRST GOLD station!

Price: £5.99 VIKING GOLD - HULL UK 1989 - PAMS - CD Here's a PAMS jingle package for "1161 - Viking Gold" - Hull-UK, from 1989. This CD contains the on-air jingles from the very successful AM station which originally broadcast to Hull and surrounding areas in 1989 and 1990. The station was then incorporated into "Classic Gold" (NOT the United Kingdom - GWR version, by the way), and became part of a Gold network broadcasting to Hull, Sheffield and Bradford in Northern England.. The overall sound of the station was unashamedly 60's Pirate based, most noteably using many of the jingles made famous by the 60's Offshore radio station:- Radio London....... Pams Jingles are world renowned, and Viking Gold rekindled those heady days of the mid 60's, with a mix of great tunes, and personality jocks. The station strap line was "Good Times and Great Oldies", and didn't it show"! ........

All of the Jingles included in the set have references to "1161 - Viking Gold" and include: - "Instant Heaven".."A Merry Go Round of Music and Fun"..."It's a Blast"..."Remember this Golden Classic"..."Great Oldies and Memories Just For You"..."Stay With the Fun"..."Remember, You've Heard it and Danced to It..." Everybody Loves V.I.K.I.N.G...."(Deep sung)...It's Smooth Sailing"..."Your Best Friend Station"..."News Around the Clock" (Very Radio London!!)...news stabs...accappellas, shouts...AND the Viking Gold Theme Tune, which was an exact copy of the Radio London / BIG L Sonovox waltz theme.................. There is an additional second track on this CD featuring MITCH CRAIG PRODUCTIONS. This early 1990's demo features "Power Connectors", a series of drops and jingles for stations as diverse as Y100, WZPL, Z100, XL93, LNEL, BJ105, Y95, KISS-FM, WBMX, Laser104.1, POWER108, and numerous others.

Using the great strap line "If this is too loud, then you're too old", this Jingles demo hits home really hard, and shows how jingle inserts can really make a good station great! Price: £5.99 CLASSIC GOLD - YORKSHIRE UK 1989 - PAMS - 2 CD SET Here's CD a Two CD set, featuring "Classic Gold" - Yorkshire, UK from 1989..... A few years ago, Classic Gold was recognised as the AM brand of GWR stations nationwide in the UK, however in 1989, after a very successful start, Viking Gold from Hull East Yorkshire, teamed up with the AM services of Radio Hallam in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and Pennine Radio in Bradford, West Yorkshire, to become "Classic Gold"...."Good Times and Great Oldies"......... This station was based on the sounds of the 60's Pirate station "Radio London" and soon became the most successful station across the North of England. (So much so, that another leading Radio Company - Metro Radio based in Newcastle, bought up the stations in 1992).

The "Classic Gold" jingle package was supplied by the World's leading Jingle Company - PAMS, and when you hear these jingles, you are instantly transported back to the Hazy days of Carnaby Street, The Austin Mini, and the Pop Pirates. There are over a hundred and sixty cuts of some of the most famous jingles in English Radio history.. Jingles include..."Smooth Sailing, with the Highly Successful Sound"..., "Remember...You've Heard it and Danced to It"..., "Good Morning"..., "Great Oldies"..., "Much More Music"..., "Up, Up, Up...With Your Musical Enjoyment"..., "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet"..., "It's a Blast" ....etc etc....All of the jingles are indentified with "Classic Gold", and there are references to the station strap line "Good Times and Great Oldies"...... There are the fully sung versions, Top only, and Tail only versions, accappella's, and shorts.

As part of the presentation for the CD jewel case, I have endevoured to copy the written information on the back of the tape box...This will give you an idea of the variety of cuts that the station used on air....All this includes the engineers remarks, crosses and ticks, and the famous PAMS logo.... It's a great collection! Price: £7.99 RADIO CAROLINE JINGLE PACKAGE This CD contains the first station produced jingles used by Offshore Pirate Station - Radio Caroline, several months after it came on air in March 1964. The recording session, according my research, occurred sometime in late 64, possibly, early 1965 and features session singer Madeleine Bell, with the unmistakable Hammond Organ heard on many of the original Caroline jingles in those early pirate days. There is some dispute as to when the session was actually recorded, but whenever it was - many well known jingles feature in the set - "Caroline - The Sound of the Nation" ... "Sounds Fine It's Caroline" ..."Man That's Groovy"...as well as instrumental beds, shouts and accappellas.

This uncut recording session sounds pretty basic by today's standards, but can be considered as a milestone in broadcasting history. There is an additional track on the CD featuring organist Jimmy McGriff playing "'Round Midnight". This tune was used to start transmissions on Easter Sunday 1964, and became the station's Anthem, closing broadcasts each evening. The tune was originally used as the theme to a programme called " Sunset Serenade". Running time - approx 30 minutes Price: £5.99 PIRATE RADIO JINGLES - 3 CD Set Over 250 jingles. Tunes, Sung Logos and Themes from the cream of the Offshore Pirates: Disc One: Tk 1 - 46 Radio London 47 - 58 Britain Radio

Question: What was the name of England’s first offshore Pirate Radio station?
Answer: Radio Caroline